** An abridged version of my thoughts on the dishes can be found in the PROS & CONS section.
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The past couple of days, food has completely lost its appeal to me on account of these ridiculous things called wisdom teeth. Yeah, those. I can’t think of a more terrible initiation into adulthood, almost as if a divine entity decided to play a cruel joke and is laughing somewhere. ALSO I NOW UNDERSTAND THE PAIN OF BABIES. NO WONDER TEETHING BABIES CRY.
Because of this, I have been spending the past couple of days at home nursing my teeth/gum pains with saline solution, painkillers and bland congee. Everything had to be ingested through a straw. Needless to say, my week has been very lousy, especially on the food front.
Moving along…It was literally a game time decision to have dinner at Victory Seafood Restaurant (located at Crystal Mall in Burnaby). Since it was a family gathering, I was obligated to go (also the reason for my not being able to take good photographs or provide a comprehensive review). I haven’t been to Crystal Mall in almost ten years, and it’s changed from what I last remember it to be. There are two Chinese restaurants in the mall if I’m not mistaken- Top Gun & Victory- the latter being the newer addition to the mall. When we arrived at the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised because I had exceedingly low expectations and was was anticipating a dingy, shabby looking establishment. Dingy it was not!
tastyvancity ordered:
Peking Duck
Lettuce Wrap
Cucumber in Garlic Sauce
Shredded Chicken
Missing: Tofu with mushrooms and ham, Gai lan with beef, Ginseng soup, Steamed fish
PROS:
- Free mall parking.
- Located in Crystal mall-> Shopping.
- Spacious.
- Nicely decorated.
- Decently priced for dinnertime (*keep in mind I did not foot the bill).
- Decent service (Didn’t have any trouble with our servers).
- Despite the rough chicken, I enjoyed the shredded chicken dish and how the other pickled vegetables tasted alongside. The perfect combination.
- 10% off.
- Tofu was smooth, interesting switchup from the usual generic tofu dishes we usually order.
CONS:
- Mall parking can be *&^%%$#.
- Lot of MSG, felt thirsty afterwards.
- The complimentary red bean soup was by far the most watery I’ve ever tasted.
- Tofu with mushrooms and ham was very plain tasting, the slices of duck from the Peking Duck were more skin than meat, the sliced cucumber appetizer featured very thick cuts and were not properly marinated. Chicken was a bit on the rough end.
Will I return?:
Maybe, I don’t think I would go out of my way to come to Burnaby for this restaurant, although I would like to try their lunch menu + dim sum if fate allows (haha) or another family gathering.
Overall: 6/10
